Fairies of the Sea
by AquamarineX
Summary: Being a professional bounty hunter, Lucy Heartfilia lead a strange past and life as she earned her living off of handing over pirate criminals. She'd never lost once before (otherwise, she'd be dead), but when a request for the pirate captain of the deadly thieves, Fairy Tail, gains her favor she gets captured. Who knew they had a soft side to them? Re-written Nalu Pirate Au.
1. Chapter 1

Lucy frowned as she glanced over the flyer in her hand.

 _Natsu... Drag-Nil?_

 _What kind of name was_ that?!

"Um..." Lucy absent-mindedly reached up and ruffled her hair with a scratch in confusion. "Okayyyy... 100,000J?" Lucy's eyes widened slightly. "Not bad... I'll be having a place to stay for at least a month, including food!" Humming in delight, she folded the paper up and stuffed it into her vest pocket.

"Let's see... Boat... Boat..." Lucy furrowed her eyebrows together, as she walked down the long wooden deck, inspecting each ship as she passed by. They all looked either too big to handle, or already had people standing inside, getting ready to exit out to sea. "... Just need a small one... Aha!" Yeah, she had a problem with talking to herself. Don't mind the random blonde haired teenager, with very tangled locks, dirty shoes, and a _totally_ sheathed dagger hanging on her belt, talking to her self, people! (Yeah... Lucy may or may not have accidentally misplaced her sword's hold the other day, when she took out _Twilight Ogre_?)

Lucy's eyes brightened, at the sight of a small wooden rowboat, with a motor connected to the back. It didn't seem like the best, but big ass ships weren't really Lucy's thing. She quickly strutted up to the boat, took out her knife, cut the rope, bounding the small ship to the dock, and jumped on board. An old man, making his way to the boat with a fishing pole and a can of worms, gasped loudly. "M-My- Hey!" He quickened his pace, dropping his bucket and line, before attempting to catch the (as Lucy would like to describe herself as) savage blonde. "Sorry! Borrowing your boat for a bit... Might get destroyed... Depends... Here!" Lucy kicked the motor on with her booted foot, calling back to the man with a (somewhat) apologetic smile. She flicked a small rubber banded wad of 2J and a piece of bubblegum to the man (as if that would make up for her hijacking his ship), and turned around to start the voyage of her (-ahem- _attempt_ ) to capture the infamous Natsu Dragfryon.

... Just kidding!

To be honest, Lucy was rather excited for her upcoming duel with the pirate. He obviously seemed like a worthy opponent, if he was worth, 100K and Lucy was looking forward to a good fight. She was actually rather prideful on her swordsmanship, if she was being totally honest. Self taught and everything- Yeah, Lucy's ego was probably as big (if not bigger) than her head.

As the boat rocked on, Lucy plopped down onto the floor of the planked ship, and began rummaging through her bag. Hmm... Not good. Lucy's face contorted to a frown. 53J left... Yikes. If she was going to capture Natsu, she'd better do it and find him fast- 53 cents ain't gonna really cut it for lunch now is it?

She sighed, as she pulled out a book... _No._ Lucy was _not_ a bookworm, while being a ruthless pirate assassin as a living. What are you talking about?... What's that? A _romance fiction_ bookworm _?_ Psshhh... Yeah okay. Lucy had isssues. Deal with it. Let's move on.

She must have sat there for hours reading her novel, and Lucy didn't seem that notice the time fly by, until she sighed in exhasperation as she shut her book. "Uwaaahhh~! I _knew_ Dave would end up with Theresa- Wait a min-" Lucy squealed in delight, her hands clasped together happily, before realizing the sky was dawning in a burst of colors."It's already, _sundown_?!" Lucy shot up to her feet so fast, the boat lurched with a jolt.

And as if to make matters worse, a rumble from Lucy's abdomen was heard, and she groaned in dismay. Of course, her stomach chose to whine over dinner, _now_ , that she was in the middle of nowhere at sea. Yeah... Lucy kinda then just realized how reckless she was. Just kind of absentmindedly drifting around looking for the Fairy Tail Pirates... Lucy face-palmed. Of course. Lucy had absolutely forgot to plan... Was that even possible?... Apparently. After realizing her dumb mistake of not recognizing her in capability to stop reading once started a romance fiction novel, Lucy began to rummage through her bag once more. "... Food... Food... Any food?" Lucy brought her eyebrows up as she began to search for dinner. She eventually turned up with a massive ball of lint, rotten bread crust, her 53J, a ripped up piece of cloth from who knows where, a stack of pirate bounty flyers, a random map of... Some kind of land, her gum packet, and a bunch of garbage.

Lucy groaned. Time to search for a place to land. Why? Well a) because Lucy didnt have a place to sleep, and dozing off on a ship at sea in the middle of the ocean usually resulted in getting killed by the pirates she intended to capture so... No thanks! And b) She honestly didn't even really feel like having moldy and soggy bread crust for her dinner.

Lucy rose her wrist up in front of her, so she could see the gadget strapped onto her arm. She tapped it a couple of times with furrowed eyebrows, before sighing in relief, as an arrow pointed straight North. "Land ho, here we go." Lucy hummed fully, before beginning to steer the boat towards the direction where the arrow was pointing. After she directed her ship, Lucy sat back down again with a click of her tongue. Resting her head down onto her chest, she crossed her arms and waited. Even though her land navigator had detected an island nearby (or probably another part in Ishgar- she may have only ridden her ship along the continent), there was no telling how long it's take before she'd reach her destination.

So with a puff and pout, Lucy turned her gaze towards the sky- looking at the distant moon and bright sun and clouds above. Too bad it wasn't a bit later- she suddenly felt like star gazing now. Lucy tilted her head to take a better look at the cloud dome above as she sat in thought. Speaking of the stars, she still wondered where her mom had gone off to. Lucy didn't want to believe she just disappeared off the face of the earth- there was no way that happened. Or dead. She definitely couldn't be dead. Lucy just couldn't imagine her strong and healthy mama dead... Even if she hadn't heard from her in 10 years. Most would honestly just tell her to deal with it, and face the fact her mom was no longer with them, even without proof, but Lucy of course didn't listen.

Time passed by quicker than she thought it would, because eventually, the boat was legit about to crash into a wooden deck without Lucy even realizing, should a boy hadn't yelled from the sidelines to his mom about her boat and it's near end. So silently, Lucy thanked the little kid, and docked her ship. It's probably get stolen or something by the next day, so Lucy grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, checked to make sure she still had her dagger hanging on her belt, and began to walk through the port town.

It was still evening, so it looked like not _much_ time had passed since she began for land- maybe 2 hours? Lucy guessed it was around 7:00 PM now. She strutted through the bustling town in wonder, as she gazed at all the mini stands where people were selling all different kinds of food and other goods. Eventually, she came to realize she didn't even know the name of the island (or part of Ishgar) she had landed at. So, she walked up to one of the stall owners and asked with as much politeness laced into her words as posssible where she was.

The man raised an eyebrow, threw his head back and laughed before answering, "Hargeon, little miss... Would you like to buy these two bracelets only for 1500J-" Apparently she was still in a Fiore then. Her boat must've made a circle while she was reading then...

"Food..." Lucy ignored the man who had helped her and asking for her money, as she stumbled off, her stomache still growling. "Food.." Lucy looked around for a place with a seemingly appetizing dish for her dinner, but to be honest, Lucy had never really been a tuna fan, so she continued to stumble off. A smell wafted to Lucy's nose, just when all hope for anything good to eat for supper seemed lost. "... Food?!" Lucy's eyes popped open from her sigh, as she gasped in disbelief and began to shove her way through the mob of people.

Lo and behold, a restaurant with it's doors open stood to the side, as Lucy pushed through to look at the source of the delicious smell. "Come all! Freshly new seasoned crab legs now for only 1,000 per crab! Not to mention an additional side of two appetizers with a cup of tea to top it off! I swear, it's a treat you wouldn't want to mis-" Lucy didn't hesitate even once, not bothering to stay and listen to the speaker in a lobster costume (funny huh, since he was adversing crabs?) before she bolted like her life was on the line, to the restaurant.

"Welcome ma'am." One of the waitresses bowed to a huffing Lucy as she gasped for air. "Would you mind coming to follow me? I'll bring you some water..." The employee sent Lucy a sympathic look, and went to go fetch a pitcher and cup of the very much needed drink, after ushered Lucy to a 2 person table. Lucy sighed, as she slung her bag over the back of her chair, as she sat patiently waiting for her drink to arrive. How she was going to pay for her meal, she had no clue, but she honestly didn't give two shits about anything right now- just the heavenly looking and smelling crab she had seen. Her mouth watered she thought of the big juicy crab just waiting for her to dig her teeth and-

"Excuse me, miss... We're free out of tables, but this... uh... _gentleman_ , would like to be served right away so... Please, would you mind if he sat with you?" Lucy looked up to see two people- One was another waitress, who was sweating bullets, while the other was a male. A very _funky_ (though Lucy knew a lot of girls wouldn't all that mind listing him as hot) looking male. He had spiky brushed raven colored locks, and he fashioned a white coat, baggy black pants with long laced boots, a belt, a regular shirt, and a purple cross necklace. He had an aura that kind of read, _I'mma cool kid_ , and his face seemed a bit bored and uncaring, though Lucy could tell in his eyes, he was definitely _not_ someone you'd mess around with.

But, hey. She'd dealt with serial killing pirates before. She can handle some random teenager who thinks he's a badass.

"Sure." She shrugged, smiling a bit, as she lazily hooked an elbow up onto the corner of her chair. The waitress squeaked out a quick, "Thank you, ma'am." Before rushing off. The guy who was standing kicked out the chair opposing to her's, and sat down. Lucy would've probably striked up a conversation, but a second later, the first waitress (who's name tag apparently read, "Kinana") came back with two cups of water. She placed them down in front of both Lucy and the random dude in front of her, silently.

... Wait. How'd she know so quickly there was two of them now seated at the table? Lucy would've probably pondered about the thought and to be honest, should've, but she didn't. "I'll pay for it after I get my food... Can I have today's crab special?" Lucy looked up at the purple haired girl in desperation, and the waitress let out a kind laugh. "Of course." She giggled, jotting down something on a small notepad she held. "And you, Gray?" Kinana turned to face the lounging male, her smile still perfectly sculpted on her mouth. Ah. Made sense. They were friends. "I'll have the crab special too please." He grunted, somewhat politely, as he handed Kinana a wad of cash. She took it with a nod, jotting more notes on her paper, before beginning to walk off to go fetch their orders.

Lucy sighed to the relief of her empty stomach being full soon, as she rested her cheek on her palm, being cropped up by her palm, her eyes fluttering shut as she inhaled a breath. "...Who _are_ you?" Lucy blinked as her sight focused on Gray (rather a strange name to Lucy... But whatever, she wasn't one to judge), whom was looking at her with a raised eyebrow as if silently questioning, " _What the fuck is wrong with this hobo_?", which of course, Lucy found unfair since she didn't think she did anything to offend the man.

"Excuse me?" Lucy cocked her head in confusion. Gray sighed. "What's your name?..." Lucy's expression must have changed greatly, because he held up his palms submittedly. "Woah, chillax... I just feel like I know you from somewhere... You seem familiar." He scratched his locks in puzzlement, as Lucy broke into a smirk. "Deja vu, then?" "Nah... A bit more than that, I think." Lucy let out a hearty "hah", and finally decided to answer his question. "Lucy. Lucy Celestial." She brung out her hand to shake in greeting as she shot Gray a grin.

Of course, she didn't feel _great_ about lying, but if she told people her true surname, she'd probably be back in her gigantic room back at her father's mansion by now. Jude's workers were _everywhere_.

"Gray. Gray Frost." His smile was small, the corners of his mouth curving slightly, as he reached out to shake her hand. Lucy narrowed her eyes slightly. Liar. But, as they say, takes one to know one, eh? Besides, he probably suspected she was fibbing the truth too. Ah well. "So, what do you do for a living?" Gray asked politely, as he brought his arm back to his side, only to fold it onto the table as an arm rest. Lucy let out a laugh. "Questionable aren't you?" Lucy smirked, as Gray feigned shock. "Ex _cuse me_ then, for _trying_ to start a conversation." He sniffed twice for good measure. "I guess some just can't appreciate that." Lucy scoffed before retorting back with her answer. "Well I apologize then, for not being classified as the _nosy_ type," she teased, Gray now gasping in false alarm. "-but I guess it could hurt to let people know I'm an author." She smugly smiled, as Gray raised an eyebrow. "You're an author? What kind of genres do you write?" A hint of true interest shone in his eyes, as he leaned forward slightly, and Lucy smiled softly.

"Well... Romance fiction." A flash of surprise went by Gray's features but Lucy wasn't done. "And it's classified as adventure. Mainly Adventure with a side of love. It's about these three teenagers, two girls and a boy, running from one of the girl's parents, and they escape on a pirate ship and-" Lucy began to rant on and on about her book series, as Gray listened.

They continued to chat continuously even after their food arrived, and the time passed by so fast, Lucy was pretty disappointed when Gray finished and announced he had to leave. "Sorry. Maybe we'll see each other again some time. Nice meeting ya, Lucy." Gray nodded, as he stood from his chair and left after allowing Lucy to say a quick "goodbye".

The bounty hunter sighed, as she stood from her chair. "Ahhh. That was good- Oh, hello Kinana. Anything I can do for you?" Lucy noted, as the purple haired waitress stood patiently waiting for Lucy's attention. "Yes, you may." The girl sent Lucy a smile. "I'm afraid you haven't paid for your meal yet, ma'am." Lucy cursed. She totally forgot. "Uhhh... Right... About that-" giggling nervously, Lucy began fumbling around her bag and pants as if searching for her wallet. "Stall... Stall..." Lucy inwardly thought, madly attempting to think up an excuse for only having 53 cents. If things seriously went as bad, she'd probably have to put it on her dad's tab, and doing so would probably give her location, or getting her kidnapped for ransom money, and neither going home to Jude, or getting roughly handled by criminals sounded very exciting to her.

Kinana was luckily kind enough to patiently wait, as if not realizing Lucy didn't have money for her dinner.

"Ummm.." Thankfully to Lucy's luck and joy, a loud bang came from outside, and she and Kinana turned to look at what was happening. " _Come one, come all!_ " A wide circle like arena had been set up with lanterns hanging from lines and poles for light, as the darkness of night began to take over. " _To the annual monthly wrestling tournament!_ " A girl with white blonde hair and blue streaks at the bottom of her locks, smiled down at the crowd of people, barily visibly to Lucy and Kinana over the mob of citizen's heads. " _Weapons are not aloud until you make it to the finalist round. Then it's technically not wrestling anymore... But, come quick and sign up! Winner takes 50,000J home! I repeat, winner takes 50,000J home!_ " The girl grinned as she shouted into her mic, and a cheer from the crowd went up.

Lucy turned back to face Kinana, and both realized. "Quick. Go get 'em, I'll pretend I don't know you till you get the money." Kinana winked, as she turned around to attend a couple of elderly citizens. Lucy smiled, happy her waitress was as kind and nice as Kinana, and rushed to the table at the corner of the stage, as she waited in line.

When she got to the stand, a girl with white hair and wavy locks smiled at her. Her name tag read, "Mira". "Hello, ma'am." She smiled politely as Lucy rushed her information out with a pant. "Lucy Celestial. Age: 22. Blood type; AB. Height, 5"5- 165 cm." She of course, was actually 19, but whatever. She didn't know if they would allow her to attend for money if she admitted her real age. Mira didn't seem to have a problem with it, as she scribbled down a name tag for Lucy, and handed it to her.

"Here you go. Have fun, and try not to get hurt too badly." Mira smiled, as she ushered Lucy with her hand to a couple of tents to the side where the fighters would be. Lucy didn't know wether to think of Mira's comment as a good sign, or as a bad, considering she suspected Lucy getting injured in the process, but finally decided not to think too much of it, as she pushed through the tent entrance to meet a warm lit room-y place inside, filled with girls.

There were quite a few of them, but Lucy scanned the area and landed on a few opponents whom would probably be at least a bit of a challenge to say the least.

There were four girls, Lucy mentally noted to stay wary of. The first, was a silent pretty yet an emo-ish aura around her, with a name tag which read, "Ecila". She had layered and cut brown hair, with a Caucasian skin tone... Probably because she was Caucasian. She had a friendly look on her face, even though she wasn't exactly smiling, but Lucy could seriously tell do _not_ mess with her. The second girl, had platinum blonde hair with as well as a beautiful face, rivaling Ecila's. She was constantly laughing with a slightly tugged up lopsided smile. Her name tag, read "Hime". Lucy'd bet money her parents either wanted her to marry a prince, or she was lying. Probably her lying. One look at her body structure, and Lucy could tell she was a gymnast- her body seemed pretty flexible. The last two, seemed to be really good friends. Or twins. Probably twins, even if their figures looked almost nothing alike. Both had deep dark black hair, though one had her fashion at a short length while the other had it in long locks. The one with short hair... to be honest was plenty obese, and was gulping down a gigantic bag of chips. Lucy made a mental note to beware of being sat on or squashed by the fa- er... wide ma'am. (Her name was apparently, "Greana")

As for her twin ("Jialiana?") she had a full face of make-up, (wayyyyy too much in Lucy's opinion) and a slender figurine. Lucy jotted her down, because she had a phobia of clowns ever since she was a little girl so... Just kidding. Still though. She had a feeling Miss. Make-Up here was going to attack her with lipstick or something.

She had just done a scan over these four, when the girl from the arena came into the tent and shot a lopsided grin. She didn't wear any artificial make-up like some people... (cough- Jialiana -cough) but had a look which was so cute, adorable, and natural Lucy just wanted to squeeze the life out of her. Her age seemed about 14? "Hello, you all!" All eyes turned their attention to "Phoebe". "I'm going to be the host of the show, with my twin, Kyle. We'll be calling you all out and stuff, so please be sure to listen carefully for your name when the fights start in about half an hour." Her voice was so _adorable_! And before you say anything, yes, Lucy had a soft side for little kids. A merciless pirate hunter, assassinating criminals in the midst of night having a heart for 14 year olds- Shut up.

"But for now, we'll be pairing you up. Since it seems there are a little bit more males attending the event then us girls," Phoebe sniffed in disapproval before continuing. "Kyle and the boys in the other tent will be drawing." She held up a black screen, and Lucy recognized it as a Lacrima vision TV. "Let's see... Ecila and Veronica..." Lucy looked up to see Ecila glare at a girl nearby who was shaking in fear. And honestly, Lucy didn't really blame her. Ecila's glare was _scary_.

"Hazel Lightwood versus Dave Calestine... Thea Green versus Greana Fletching... TobyCSS von Drake versus Jialiana Fletching..." Lucy let out a snicker. TobyCSS von Drake was legit obviously such a fake name. She was still scoffing to herself, when she gasped when she heard her name.

"Gray Frost versus Lucy Celestial..."

* * *

 **A/Ns: Hey guys! I'm back!** **Some characters are OC just for the fight, but that's not what I really wanna talk about. I'm rewriting this. Like plot change, personality change, grammar change everything. The cringe was** ** _massive_ when I read this over. Almost 4K words so I hope this is long enough for you all, and I hope you'll still read my fanfic. If you don't like the way I changed the plot, feel free to leave, and I'm sorry. I'm still going to have the same events, but at different times, different reactions, and different turn outs.**

 **Like the restuarant scene with Natsu is now with Gray, Gray is fighting Lucy in a legal match event, and... Yeah. Don't worry, I'm still here and I'll try to update more.**

 **I got my characters, Hime and Ecila, from my two best online friends. Go check them out, Ecila's works are awesome. Especially _To sad to Tell_ on Ao no Exorcist. (Their full names are Ecila of Wonderland and Hime of Hearts). **

**Hope to see you all soon!**

 **-Trinity**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER | HIRO MASHIMA OWNS FAIRY TAIL**


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the pairing announcement went in and out through Lucy's ear.

 _What_ did she just say?

Lucy blinked as Phoebe continued rambling on. "Hime vs Drakon Lee... Aoi Fraya vs Sakura Warde... Ah, question miss Lucy?" Numerous pairs of eyes turned their attention as Lucy awkwardly took a small step forward, one hand crossing over her chest while the other rose up in the air in a puzzling manner.

"Er... Yeah... Could you repeat my match-up again, please? I don't think I heard right..." Lucy laughed nervously as Phoebe raised an eyebrow, as if thinking of something to retort back, but (to Lucy's relief) seemed to have thought the better of it and shot the shuffling blonde a smile. "Sure!" Phoebe looked at her Lacroma Vision TV, pressed a few buttons on a remote, and soon a whole chart of whom was already drawn with their partners appeared on the wide black screen.

"Oohhhh..." Hums of awe rifled through the mob of girls as each individually studied the flat board.

Lucy gulped. She was right the first time. She was going up against the guy who she had met at the restaurant. Damn. Lucy was certain she saw faint outlines through his clothes of pure muscle- she wasn't going to have an easy time that was for sure.

"Well, shit." She cursed as she kicked the ground with her booted foot. Small chunks of dirt and grass flew up and hit some nearby girls, which caused a racket of screams, squeals and demands for an apology (which Lucy did eventually give them). After waving off a quick "Sorry!" to the screaming drama queens, Lucy decided to take a seat and contemplate on how the hell was she going to defeat her just newly made friend.

Andddd- there goes another bond with a person down the dump.

Yeah... Lucy didn't really care for socializing but she did bother with the ones she currently already _had_.

...What a pain.

Lucy groaned, placing her head into her hands just as Phoebe smiled to take her leave. "And there you go, folks! Ah- it seems like it's almost time for the festivities. Please be sure to stay in the tent until after your match-ups. We have doctors and meds in the nearby tent on the left of the boy's room so please be sure you check up in there at least once before your fight and after. Thanks! I'll see you all in a bit then." And with that Phoebe bowed once, her soft smile still placed on her lips with a curve, before she turned and exited through the tent flaps.

After that, Lucy didn't know _how_ much time flew by, but eventually she did get up off her chair to go visit the medics in the other tent, as Phoebe said she should. Tons of battle strats and ideas raced through her mind continuously, even as the doctor and nurse injected a shot into Lucy's arm. Her face must've been giving a glare vibe (though she was just mixed in thought) because tons of people stepped away and avoided her eyes as Lucy walked out of the tent and into another.

Her eyes landed on another floating Lacrima Vision TV, once she snapped back into reality and stopped daydreaming about swinging her dagger around. Up on the screen showed two figures whom Lucy recognized- Ecila and Veronica.

Luckily, timer seemed not to have started the match yet.

Lucy rose an eyebrow as she watched Phoebe and a boy with a cute cut of surfer's hair (platinum blonde of course like Phoebe's) stand off to the side of the arena on a large tall stand.

Phoebe rubbed her hands together, grinned, and joined in on the last three seconds of the clock. " **3.** " Ecila's eyes narrowed and she picked up her right foot and placed it in back- forming into a battle position. " **2.** " Ecila clicked her tongue in impatient annoyance. " **1-** " Lucy raised an eyebrow as she watched Veronica's eyes widen in horror- trembling from head to toe. " **Begin.** " A loud ' _bong_ ' was heard as Ecila blurred out of sight the moment the word left Phoebe's lips. Lucy swore she saw Veronica wet her pants, just before being blown off the arena circle with a loud ' _krack_ '.

Dust filled the screen, and a moment later- static. But soon, the TV was restored and the dirt began to subside, as Lucy squinted (even though she was watching on a TV...) to see the small figure still standing on the arena. Ecila eventually came unto focus for the camera, a hard look on her face so ferocious it sent shivers down Lucy's spine. Phoebe and Kyle were speechless, as both had wide jaws open, blinked, turned to look at each other, and faced back to the arena again. All doing this simultaneously. "W-Well then... Er... E-Ecila E. Kiki wins!" Kyle stuttered, as he blinked multiple times quickly in disbelief.

But, something was off.

Ecila still seemed to be in a fighting position.

... Veronica was going to be forever in Lucy's prayers.

Ahh... Shit.

Ecila shot off again, her feet pushing off the arena ground as a boost with a leap to gain speed, as she jolted off to where Veronica lay crashed on the ground in a small crater off to the side, moaning in pain. Lucy winced and covered her eyes as the Lacrima TV repeated the echoes of the pummeling Veronica was receiving. A loud, ' _wham_ ' a creaking ' _Errrrk_ ' and a frighteningly loud, ' _krackk_ '.

... Disclocated shoulder and a bone sticking out in the wrong way it was supposed to, with a sprinkle of large busts and bruises all over from the sounds of it. Yikes.

Ecila was scary.

How did Hargeon have such monsters as her here?

Lucy's ego had probably shrunken that day.

Kyle and Phoebe, along with a bunch of security managers were freaking out, a bunch running over to stop the madness caused by Ecila, and the chaos of wether Veronica lived or what not.

... She probably didn't.

Lucy scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion, as from the corner of her eye, she watched as "Hime" grimace. "Damn... I only _told_ her to _imagine_ as if poor Veronica was the obstacle between Viktor and Yuri's relationship... Or Mika and Yuu's and maybe Rin and Haru and- nevermind... _Argh_ , dammit. Poor poor Veronica..." Hime shook out her blonde locks in sympathy as she tutted to herself in annoyance. Lucy cocked her head in confusion. What? Mika and Yuu from Owari no Seraph? And Rin and Haru from Free? And Yuri and Viktor from Yurii! On ic- _What_? No- Lucy wasn't an anime and manga fan. She _totally_ wasn't into hot guys in anime shows and-Aw fuck.

Lucy turned her attention back to the screen. Loud jeers and applauds were echoing through the crowd- both coming from outside he tent and through the Lacrima TV. Veronica was now being hustled out and into the medic's tent on a stretcher, while Ecila kicked and screamed as two burly men grabbed hold of her- only to get each a punch and kick right in the balls... More prayers incoming.

Lucy sighed as she watched as Phoebe and Kyle frantically began whispering to each other, before each plastered a fake and nervous smile on their faces.

"Ahem..." Kyle cleared his throat, a trickle of sweat falling down the side of his forehead, as he looked at a grinning Phoebe in reassurement before continuing on. "A-Anyways, that was an interesting fight. Both Ecila and Veronica are out- for numerous reasons. Veronica DQed for injuries, and Ecila... Er... For going a _little_ bit over board on the 'wrestling' part." Phoebe winced at the point of "'little'" but over board, and honestly Lucy couldn't blame her.

"Um... Continuing on," Kyle coughed. "Let's all draw to see who our next match up will be!" He sent the crowd a nervous and wavering, but undeniably cute smile, causing quite a few numerous girl-like (and a few guy-ish - Lucy wasn't one to judge) screams, as he flipped his side bang-ed surfer's hair off to the right. Phoebe rolled her eyes, the microphone catching onto a small pressured whisper, "Lady's man magnet." And a small, "Hey!" From Kyle, and a ripple of laughter passed through the crowd, just before Phoebe reached into a small cube like machine and grabbed a small folded piece of paper inside.

She unfolded it, waiting a few seconds for anticipation and for the gigantic mob of people to calm down, before reading the given number aloud. " **5**." Lucy's eyes widened. "Gray Frost versus Lucy Celestial... And please-contestants once you knock each other out or out of the arena space, _please_ avoid any more violence involved." A glint of desperation shone in Phoebe's stunningly sky shocking blue eyes, as she glanced around nervously, Kyle nodding his approval with a gulp besides his sister.

"All right then- Contestants to the arena entrances please."

* * *

Lucy gulped thickly.

To be honest, she seriously hoped she wouldn't have to fight the "Gray Frost" she had just met a moment ago. She was still hoping on the wish of this being a different, "Gray". Though, with her luck, Lucy would be up against the exact same person she saw at the restuarant.

Well, she'd find out in a second, once Phoebe (or Kyle) called her out from the side entrance. The arena was a built structure, shaped like a circle, around two feet or so higher off the ground. The arena had a long stall like tower, for the referee/hosts (where Phoebe and Kyle were at the moment), to the direct east of the circle. Two long stall like hallways, stood at the Nothern and Southern end, where Lucy was currently (at the Southern ended hallways). They had a somewhat fence as a borderline of the hallway's entrance standing in the way of the arena field, and where Lucy was standing now. Of course, it had piqued the hopes of Lucy _not_ fighting Gray, but alas- Lucy wasn't quite a luck filled girl...

Ah... The gates are opening now...

...Here goes nothing.

* * *

Gray scratched the back of his head, just as the gateway between the arena and him lifted upwards to allow his entrance.

Either he was going to meet _two_ "Lucy Celestial"s in one day, or he was going to have to kick his new found 'friend''s (should he call the lady he _just_ met that?... Hmm. Acquaintances then.) rear end. He wasn't really looking forward to it, because something had told him Lucy was a _pretty_ good fighter, but what was he gonna do about it? Nats-Flame for Brains, had told him he was going to infilitrate Hargeon eventually, so he should probably stock up some extra money. Of course, being the dumbass _he_ was Pyro freak didn't realize that was the main _point_ of the whole infiltration process, and that it'd be easier to snatch some jewels for himself during the process. But, _noooo._ Erza just _had_ to be there so he couldn't call out their dumbass pirate sub-captain's useless idea, and Mira just _had_ to recommend the wrestling match at 8:00 that night.

... What a pain.

... _Damn_ , he really needed to find a smarter best friend.

* * *

 **Honestly, I was planning on going up till when _Fairy Tail_ interrupted the match, but I _really_ like stopping at cliffhangers (haha, even though I _hate_ them... Whaaat? Who're you calling hypocrite?). I added a bonus Gray POV ending, I guess kind of a spoiler for what's to come so... Nuhuhuhuh.**

 **Updated on Mondays! Thanks for all the support!**

 **~Luv Trinity**


	3. Chapter 3

Walking forward, Lucy inhaled deeply before completely walking into the clearing. Well then, let's get this show on the road.

Exiting the arena doorway, Lucy was met into the light with loud cheering, and countless people all staring at her in anticipation. Well, of course. The event was a major deal in the city after all. Gray was standing vertical towards her, facing her squarely as he readied his stance.

" _Begin._ " The booming voice above the speakers caused Lucy to spring into motion. She needed that money. Bad. Shooting across from the dusty floor, Lucy created some distance by jumping off diagonally away from Gray, who had the opposite idea and came at her on full-throttle.

He was fast. Faster than she had anticipated. In no time at all, he caught up to her, bringing out a dagger, that seemed to match her own. Lucy's eyes widened as Gray struck, pointing his dagger at her, swiping at her head. Oh, that's right. Killing was actually aloud during this, though if you ended your opponent's life you would be unable to collect the reward, even if you continued the matches.

Letting out a quick, "tch", Lucy swung her head back wards, making an arch with her body. Kicking her feet up to do a backwards aerial, propelling her feet off of his bigger figure in the meanwhile. Sure, they had just met and maybe would've been friends, but at the time he was her opponent.

 _...And there was no way in hell, she would go down without a fight._

Honestly, Lucy herself had to admit - She was a pretty good fighter. She had trained constantly, ever since she was by herself and on the run from pirates. Bounty hunters and the sea criminals alike, all (well.. Most of them anyways) had all heard her name from sometime, somewhere. So she was incredibly surprised to see Gray nearly attack her. Her kick did land a solid underneath his jaw, though he seemed unfazed, when she took a look at his condition when she landed.

He had no idea, how many pirate captains flew through the air, several meters off the ground from that kick.

 _He was strong._

 _Stronger than her._

And no, Lucy didn't favor that in the slightest. Was all her hard-work nothing? In this small town of Hargeon, a minor port in one of the many countries of Earthland, she had already easily found someone as strong as he was. It was visibly clear he hadn't used nearly any of his energy yet, whilst Lucy was already sweating from the nervousness.

In fact... If she didn't know any better, he was actually looking at her with pity.

Whether it be for just becoming friends with her, or because he probably also knew she was no match, angered her nonetheless.

It didn't matter if he was stronger. She would still fight. Who cares? She just needed money, and if she was injured she would be unable to pay the food anyways... Though that was foolish to the option of surrendering unharmed and escaping without having to fess up the jewels. Lucy waved her thoughts off. Meh, whatever.

As she was dawdling with herself, Gray blurred out of sight, and the crowd cheered. He was far too fast for the normal eye to see, and meanwhile back in the girl's tent the females all gulped in shock.

"...He's fast." Ecila gulped.

"It'll take a lot of practice to even see him." Hime replied, bluntly. Ecila looked at her, a face of challenge. "Can _you_ see him?" Hime scoffed in response, "Of _course._ " The two glared at each other playfully, while the others (minus Greana and Jialiana) were murmuring to themselves, laughing nervously in agreement.

Lucy would assume the only ones capable of seeing Gray were a few selected males in the tent, and the four she saw earlier in the female pitch.

Of course, she could see him obviously...

... _Barely._

Gritting her teeth, Lucy looked around, attempting to figure out where he was. Dust began to blow up from his running (he seemed to decide to add a bit of a kick to his step), and it was creating a pretty good smoke-screen. Lucy cursed, as she stood, helplessly looking around.

"Over here." His deep voice echoed from behind her, when suddenly a sharp chop nailed her in the back of her neck. Lucy gasped, as she slowly fell forward, the audience murmuring in confusion as they still couldn't see the arena with the sand flying through the air.

When his smoke-screen had cleared, many numerous voices gasped to see Lucy flat on the floor with Gray looking down at her.

" _T-That's a knock out! Ten... Nine..._ " Lucy could hear the countdown, and she was desperate to try to stand, well-aware of the look of pity Gray had on her as he stared down at the struggling girl.

" _Five... Four..._ " She tried to push herself up. She really did. But, her body just wouldn't do what she wanted it to. " _Two..._ " Lucy cursed, mentally. Well, at least it was over now.

" _One-_ " "I forfeit."

Her brown eyes bulged, as the figure who called surrender raised his hand in defeat. "I surrender. Lucy Celestial, wins." Lucy gasped, attempting even harder to struggle to her feet, as Gray walked off and out of the arena in supposed loss, as he stuck his hands into his pockets, allowing Lucy to win.

" _Ah... T-T-Then, Lucy Celestial moves onto the next round!_ " The area erupted in a series of both jeers and celebration, as some were glad with Lucy's victory, and other's absolutely furious. Though it was clear to all, who had _really_ dominated. Lucy had just been absolutely crushed. Assistants of the match came to help put Lucy on a stretcher (since she couldn't get up herself) and began to carry her away to the infirmary. Her sight was going blank, the results of unconsciousness almost completely overtaking her. It seemed, she did struggle against his chop, but not enough.

Black spots danced in her line of vision, as she felt light-headed, thoughts of the fight still confusing her, and she immediately wanted to demand a reason to his defeat. But, then again, she was in no position to call for hi-

And that was it. Everything completely blanked from there on.

* * *

A/ns: Short chapter! I know, I know. You guys did tell me you wanted long chapters not shitty ones like 800 words, and you did tell me to take my time with them, but I just realized I nearly forgotten about you all! I'm so sorry, my dear readers! Nalu, will be coming soon (Nuhuh, hopefully in the next chapter -evil grin-) and if you all are still alive, I'd like to hear your thoughts! Please review, and thanks for sticking with me till now! (I might update tomorrow)

[Chapter was around 1,083 words without the author notes]


	4. Chapter 4

Gray was doing everything he could to prevent killing someone.

Seriously, he's never had this big of a migraine.

He let out a grunt as he walked out of the arena. The stupid pyro was late. Weren't they supposed to be free-loading and-ahem-'taking over Hargeon' by now? He tilted his raven haired head up at the sky, giving it his coldest glare he could muster.

"What, do the clouds owe you money or something, Gray?"

At his name, he jolted quickly in surprise, turning around to see who spoke. His guard immediately flew up, his fists raised into a stance before he relaxed when he recognized the figure.

"Geez, Mira," he released the tension in his body, scratching his head in slight embarrassment. "How'd you always do that? Sneaking up on me and everything." The white-haired check-in clerk giggled. "Well being on-board the ship and all, I'd got to have _some_ talents to make it on the famous crew, right?" A thunder of fear struck Gray when a sinister smile began to creep it's way onto the usually innocent looking face of Mirajane.

But just as the smirk appeared, her face quickly morphed back into the usual beautiful smile he and his crew-mates had so grown to love.

 _What the-_ Gray shook off the thought, figuring the question wasn't worth lingering over for. Ignoring the goosebumps prickling on his back, Gray glared at a nearby man who had just shoved him out of his way. "Where's that idiot, flame-ball?" Gray hissed.

Mira raised an eyebrow. "I hadn't thought of that. Our members should've been here by now." She paused, thinking over her sentence before adding a positive spin at the end with a smile. "Maybe they had to take a quick stop to get me some of that special sauce for dinner, tonight! I'd accidentally left it back in Fiore, so maybe they just quickly ran back to get it."

Gray was pretty sure Natsu and Erza hadn't turned all the way back home, just to get a can of tomato sauce for pasta.

"Oh!" Mira cried, snapping her fingers together. "I just remembered what I've been meaning to ask you." she looked up at Gray in confusion, her eyebrows furrowing together to make a delicate wrinkle on her porcelain skin. "How come you let that blonde girl win? You could have easily taken her out of play."

Gray shrugged in reply. "She was pretty good. Not everybody can match my speed, y'know." He gave a proud puff of air to his chest.

Apologetically, she smiled back up at him. "Honestly, though. You're not _that_ fast."

The cold feeling from before washed over him, his muscles tensing up at the comment. He had to remember not to be too relaxed around Mirajane. After all, Makarov had deemed her an 'S-class' pirate.

Otherwise known as one of the most deadliest criminals on his ship.

And his ship was the number-one most wanted pirate crew in Fiore.

So, in other words; She was a _pretty_ big deal.

He hadn't noticed he was staring off into space, when he was brought (roughly) back to reality when a loud bang filled the air (nearly killing his eardrums). "There they are!" He faintly heard the happy sing-song of Mira next to him. "I hope they have the sauce!" He barely had time to register her quick disappearance. Completely gone from the naked-eye.

Gray cursed as dust began to erupt around him. He wasn't scared (he had no reason to be afraid of his own crew-mates), but he sure as heck was ticked off. Dirt flying into his eyes wasn't on his 'to-do' list, and he sure as hell knew his flame-balled captain was just doing this for his own flashy entertainment.

The already giant crowd of people broke into hysterics. Screams, yells, and cries filled the air as the mob quickly began to shove and push each other around in confusion, each person trying to find out what was going on and rush to safety. "What the fu-" Gray was shoved to the left. "People, quit the shi-" Gray was shoved to the right. "Stop, tryin' ta-" Gray got an apple stuffed in his mouth.

He barely had time to think. _What the crap-_ When someone shoved him into a dark bag, and carried him off.

 **XOXOX**

Lucy jolted, quickly coming to. She was proud to say, she'd been prepared. She'd train herself to never be knocked unconscious for too long.

Actually, that was a lie. She'd train herself to not be knocked out _at all_ , but hey, five minutes wasn't that bad a deal.

Hehe, how she knew? Because she'd taken the liberty of having super-sonic, ultra amazing, awesome heroine-like powers of course.

...What? The clock hanging above the exit of the first-aid hospital tent? Pfft, that's just for _decoration._

But, all sarcasm aside, Lucy was more confused more than she'd ever had been. Because, a) her brain hurt so bad, she didn't even know _why_ she was in the hospital tent. b) she wasn't sure if people screaming outside an emergency tent was normal, but she was pretty sure they weren't supposed to be trying to _climb_ on top of it. And c) There was a pink-haired dude looking down at her the moment she opened her eyes.

"You're awake!" "bGAH!"

She just barely had time to lay upon the presence of his wide, toothy grin before her body spazzed and she rolled off the bed, hitting her already in-pained head on the ground.

"Woah, you okay?" She heard his voice and the creak of the mattress, letting her know that a random man, that was in _her_ tent, was leaning over to look at her. And in all her glory, Lucy knew she probably didn't look very professional-or accountable for that matter-laying down on the floor tangled in white blankets. It didn't help when she _tried_ to free herself, she very noticeably failed, kneeing the metal of the prop-up hospital bed. And trust her, it didn't feel too pleasant.

But, on her defense, a stranger shouldn't have been allowed inside of the arena's private tents (and somewhere from the nearby tent wall, scratching could be heard as people attempted to climb on top of the hold).

Lucy was still encased in her tangle of blankets on the floor, but she just managed to create a peep-hole as she peered out to just in time see the pink-haired man cringe as he glanced up at the tent's walls. "Holy-" He ducked, leaning all the way onto the bed as a figure attempted to jump onto the plastic tarp.

"Hargeoneans are crazy!" His voice stayed up-beat, letting out a chuckle as he raised his head again with a grin to look back down at the entangled Lucy.

"Hargeoneans?" She echoed, her voice muffled. Honestly, she knew she had more important matters to take care of at the moment, but right now Lucy's head hurt so much she didn't even care anymore. She gave up on freeing herself and began to try to sit up, instead. "You mean the people who live here?"

She watched as he gave a shrug. "Nah, it's just easier to call 'em that way."

She narrowed her eyes in confusion, before quickly brushing it off, to continue trying to get into a proper seating position. Nonetheless- she was a failure (at a lot of things).

She heard him begin to hum. "Need help?" amusement was heard visibly in his voice. Immediately, Lucy could already imagine his grin (and she'd only seen in twice, now). Somehow, this only ticked her off. "No, I'm fine." Lucy snapped, furiously beginning to wriggle and squirm now, in desperate attempt to get free.

Remind her to save funds up to sue the person who thought rough white rope-felt blankets were a good idea.

"I think you need help." He noted.

Okay, by now it would've probably been a smart idea to just give up now that she was beginning to roll from the bed, to the tent wall (and get kicked), and back but Lucy always knew her pride was probably too big than it should be.

She froze when a voice interrupted, someone clearly yelling through the tent walls. "Natsu! All preparations are accounted for!"

Wait. _Natsu?_

Realization dawned to her, as cold and deadly as a knife piercing her heart. Her bloodline began to pump faster and louder, fear sweeping over her.

His nonchalant voice called back. "Good job, Mira! I'll be out in a seco-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence when the whole tent collapsed inwards; folding in on the two with the weight of multiple people on top of them.

* * *

A/ns: I didn't like it... Oh, well. Hello, mina-san! I don't think anyone bothers to read this anymore, but welcome if you do! I'm sorry for the late update, but hey. You guys said it was alright as long as I updated right? It's Sunday, but somewhere around the world it's Monday, so I guess you could say my update is on it's right date. I'm posting this today, because I hope to write some more tomorrow, because it's labor day. Yippee! We were going to go to Texas, but Harvey hit and... (cries). I'm sorry I can't please all of you readers, who hate my plotline. But, I'm trying to do my best, and I'll try to be more active for some of you. Thanks for coming back to read!

(Sorry... Minus author notes chapter's only 1,521. I'll work on it some more tomorrow! Promise! (Or maybe a different fanfic..))

(BTW, Lucy is going to be strong, but not powerful enough to defeat people like Gray, and Mira. She will still be independent though, so please understand on that note :))


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